Alleged racial slur prompts Dallas United’s withdrawal from The Soccer Tournament
An alleged racial slur during a match at The Soccer Tournament resulted in the withdrawal of Dallas United, one of the 32 teams in the new competition in Cary.
Earlier Thursday night, TST officials suspended the match between Dallas United and West Ham to investigate an incident with the alleged slur.
At 11:18 p.m., TST officials released a statement saying Dallas United had agreed to withdraw from competition. Friday’s scheduled game between Dallas United and Far East United was not be played.
“After conducting an investigation into the final moments of the match between West Ham United and Dallas United, we have concluded that Dallas United violated TST’s code of conduct,” officials wrote in a statement. “We seek to run an event that is not only fiercely high stakes for all competitors, but also one in which all competitors feel safe and protected.”
At the end of regulation time between West Ham and Dallas United, with Dallas United ahead 2-0 and a “target score” for overtime set at 3, some of West Ham’s players appeared to be visibly agitated on the field. Players from both teams were seen yelling back and forth.
Moments later, all of West Ham’s players collected their belongings and walked off the field without finishing the game. Former NBA All-Star Chris Paul, a part owner of TST, was at field level and was talking to players from both teams, trying to keep the peace.
In a statement posted on the tournament’s official social media channels just after 8:15 p.m., officials said the game — the fifth match of the second session of pool play — had been suspended.
“TST has zero tolerance towards racial abuse, and take these allegations very seriously,” the statement read. “After speaking with players and coaches from both teams, officials, and consulting audio from our production team, TST will issue the results of its investigation.”
Three hours later, TST provided an updated statement about Dallas United’s withdrawal.
“We have been in dialogue with leadership from both clubs and we are all aligned that the best path forward is Dallas United withdrawing from competition. All parties involved are unified in wanting to make a statement against racial insensitivity. ”
Dallas United, which is owned by FIFA twitch streamer Castro1021, posted the following statement:
“In light of the shadow cast by an opposing player’s accusation during tonight’s match, the Dallas United players unanimously decided to withdraw from the remainder of the competition. Our coaches and staff fully support the team’s decision. We thank @TST7v7 for the opportunity to compete in the tournament.”
According to the match broadcast, some of West Ham’s players allegedly heard a Dallas United player direct a racial slur at one of their players. Officials did not hear the alleged slur, according to the information provided on the broadcast.
According to a report from ESPN, the allegation was made by Anton Ferdinand, one of several players who made the trip to the United States to represent the club in the tournament.
The incident in the evening session marred what was otherwise a great day for soccer enthusiasts in North Carolina — and around the world for those able to watch on streaming services.
Celebrities scattered throughout the lineups of the 32 teams playing in TST were highlights for some fans, but the tournament’s format and the excitement it generated — and the $1 million, winner-take-all stakes — made for compelling viewing.
Most of the games in both sessions were competitive, many reaching the player-reduction stage of the unique overtime format in this tournament.
For openers
The first session of match play Thursday produced more tight games than blowouts, though most teams playing their first games of the four-day event took a while to get used to the different rules.
In a few games, back-line players were pinching to create offsides, only to be burned by a player slipping behind them because, in TST, there is no offside rule.
In one of the marquee early matchups, Wrexham of Wales produced one of the more exciting results when, after trailing Como 1907 2-0 at the end of regulation, the Red Dragons rallied to win 3-2 in the “target-time” overtime period, a unique and exciting feature added to this tournament that tries to create an avenue for each team to win each game without any true blowouts.
Among Como’s rostered players is former NBA All-Star Steve Nash, who played regular minutes in his team’s stunning loss.
Though there were a few lopsided scores in the opening session, including a 5-0 win by Say Word FC over the U.S. Women’s team. Two other teams with representatives from the U.S. national teams — Team Dempsey and Conrad & Beasley United — posted one-goal wins.
Under the lights
In Thursday’s second session, which began at about 5 p.m. and concluded well after the sun set over WakeMed Soccer Park, some teams punched their ticket into the elimination round with resounding wins, others clung to hope with narrow escapes.
Some, though, had to resign themselves to the fact that their dream of winning this inaugural event — and the $1 million — was over.
Among those in the driver’s seat after the first day: Hoosier Army, Wrexham, Blade & Grass FC, Hashtag United, Hapoel Tel Aviv, SLC FC, Sneaky Fox, Culture By Mo Ali FC, and Raleigh Rebels each won twice on Day 1, giving them the upper hand to advance to the Round of 16, which started after the third round-robin games on Friday.
Unique among those teams were Hapoel Tel Aviv and SLC FC, which are both 2-0 and both in the same pool, meaning both had already clinched a place in the knockout rounds. They played each other Friday morning to determine which team was the top seed out of their group. In every other group — other than Group D, which included West Ham and Dallas United — one team went 2-0, two went 1-1, and one went 0-2.
In the event that, after all three group play matches, three teams were tied at 2-1, or at 1-2, goal differential was used to break that tie, meaning by how much you’d won was as important as winning itself.
This story was originally published June 1, 2023 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Alleged racial slur prompts Dallas United’s withdrawal from The Soccer Tournament."
